The Washington Wild Things are a professional baseball team based in
Washington, Pennsylvania
Washington is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Pennsylvania. A part of the Greater Pittsburgh area in the southwestern part of the state, the city is home to Washington & Jefferson College and Pony League baseball. The popula ...
, in the United States. The Wild Things are a member of the
Frontier League
The Frontier League is a professional independent baseball league with teams in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Eastern Canada. Formed in 1993, it is the oldest currently running independent league in the United States. The le ...
, an
independent baseball
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independe ...
league which, as of 2020, is an official
Partner League of
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL ...
.
From the 2002 season to the present, the Wild Things have played their home games at
Wild Things Park.
Seasons
Current Roster
Highlights
* First ever perfect game in Frontier League history, (Matt Sergey, August 24, 2014)
* Frontier League Organization of the Year Award (2002, 2004, 2005)
* Second team in Frontier League history to make playoffs four straight years (Evansville, 1997–2000)
* Led Frontier League in wins four straight seasons
** 2002 (56–28)
** 2003 (54–34)
** 2004 (62–34)
** 2005 (63–32)
* In 2005:
** 35–12 second half of season (Since July 18)
** 23–5 the month of August
** 13-game winning streak (July 27 – August 9)
** 11-game winning streak (August 12 – August 23)
** 14 straight home wins (August 3 – August 23)
* Hosted the Frontier League All-Star Game in 2005 and 2013
New Frontier League records up to 2005
* Only perfect game in Frontier League history (August 24, 2014, thrown by Matt Sergey)
* Wins in a season: 63 (old record – Washington Wild Things, 2004)
* Triples: 46 (old record – 33; Springfield, 1999)
* Runs: 645 (old record – 612; London, 1999)
* At Bats: 3,357 (old record – 3329; Rockford, 2004)
* Hits: 999 (old record – 962; Rockford, 2004)
* RBI: 567 (old record – 550; London, 1999)
* Base on Balls: 433 (old record – 427; Dubois County, 2002)
* Saves: 34 (old record – Washington Wild Things, 2004)
* Total chances: 3740 (old record – 3,687; S/O 2004)
* Individual saves by a closer, Jonathan Kountis
Managers
* 2002–2003: Jeff Isom (110–62)
* 2004–2007: John Massarelli (239–143)
* 2008: Greg Jelks (48–48)
* 2009: Mark Mason (43–53)
* 2010–2011: Darin Everson (80–110)
* 2012: Chris Bando (44–52)
* 2013–2014: Bart Zeller (72–74)
* 2014: Bob Bozzuto: (36–18)
Following the 2003 season, Jeff Isom resigned as manager and moved to the
Joliet Jackhammers
The Joliet JackHammers were a professional baseball team based in Joliet, Illinois, in the United States. The JackHammers were a member of the Northern League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. From 2002 to 2010, the JackHammers ...
of the
Northern League. After the 2007 season, Massarelli and the Wild Things parted ways. He took 2008 off and was named the first manager in Lake Erie Crushers history. In 2008, Greg Jelks was named the new manager of the Wild Things, but failed to lead them to the playoffs and finished the season at 48–48.
Mark Mason returned to the Wild Things in 2009 as manager after coaching the Paints for two seasons. In November 2009, Mason left the Wild Things to become pitching coach of the
Atlantic League's York Revolution
The York Revolution is an American professional minor-league baseball team based in York, Pennsylvania. It is a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent "partner league" of Major League Basebal ...
. On February 16, 2010, they announced Darin Everson as their new manager. After the 2011 season, Darin Everson and the Wild Things parted ways following an 80–110 record over two seasons. On October 18, 2011, the Wild Things hired former MLB catcher and
Triple-A coach Chris Bando as the 6th manager in Wild things history. In March 2013, Bando announced that due to complications from hip surgery in January he would resign as manager. Recently hired Bench coach Bart Zeller, who had managed the Joliet Slammers the last two seasons and won a championship, was promoted to manager. During the 2014 season at 31–19 headed into the All-Star break, manager Bart Zeller resigned due to health concerns. He was scheduled to manage the Eastern All-Stars. After the break, Bob Bozzuto took over as manager.
Notable alumni
*
Kalen DeBoer (1998)
*
Vidal Nuño (2011)
*
Chris Smith (2011–2012)
*
Zac Grotz (2016)
*
Pat McAfee (2018)
*
Rob Whalen (2021–
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypox ...
)
*
Isaac Mattson (
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypox ...
)
Championships and awards
* 2002 Frontier League Eastern Division Champions
* 2002 Frontier League Organization of the Year
* 2002 Jared Howton, Most Valuable Pitcher
* 2002 Jeff Isom, Manager Of the Year
* 2003 Josh Loggins, Most Valuable Player
* 2004 Frontier League Eastern Division Champions
* 2004 Frontier League Organization of the Year
* 2004 John Massarelli, Manager Of the Year
* 2005 Frontier League Eastern Division Champions
* 2005 Frontier League Organization of the Year
* 2006 Frontier League Eastern Division Champions
* 2006 John Massarelli, Manager Of the Year
* 2007 Frontier League Eastern Division Champions
* 2018 Frontier League Eastern Division Champions
* 2021 Frontier League Eastern Division Champions
* 2022 Frontier League West Division Champions
References
External links
*
{{Washington, Pennsylvania
Frontier League teams
Professional baseball teams in Pennsylvania
Washington, Pennsylvania